European Union foreign ministers agreed to ban oil imports from Iran starting July 1

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as part of measures to ratchet up the pressure on the Persian Gulf nation’s nuclear programme, the 27-nation bloc said in a statement.

The EU will freeze assets of the Iranian central bank in Europe as well as of eight other entities and ban the trade in gold, precious metals, diamonds and petrochemical products from Iran, the EU said.

The decisions target the sources of the finance for the nuclear programme, complementing already existing sanctions, the EU said, adding that it has banned imports of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products.

Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf passageway for about 20 per cent of globally traded oil, if the EU and the US impose stricter sanctions.

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait ship crude and liquefied natural gas through the strait. New contracts on oil imports from Iran and extensions of existing deals will be banned under the embargo, the EU said.

Shipments under agreements already in place can continue until July 1. The EU measures against Iran also include a ban on the export of equipment and technology for the Iranian petrochemical industry.

Brent oil for March settlement gained as much as $1.29, or 1.2 per cent, to $111.15 a barrel and was at $111.09 a barrel at 12:40 pm on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.